(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to musical instruments and particularly to that class of instrument known as the harmonica or mouth organ. More specifically, this invention is directed to improvements in hand-held musical instruments which produce sound in response to the passage of air over vibrating reeds and especially to air flow control valves for such instruments. Accordingly, the general objects of the present invention are to provide novel and improved apparatus of such character.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
It is known that the excitation of the reeds of a mouth organ may be facilitated by associating a one-way valve with each reed, the mouth organ being provided with both pressure-excited and suction-excited reeds. The valves function to reduce air loss through the gaps surrounding non-sounding reeds, i.e., about the suction-excited reeds when the player exhales and about the pressure-excited reeds when the player inhales. In known top-of-the-line mouth organs the number of valves will be equal to the number of reeds and the individual valves are adhesively secured to the slotted plates with which the reeds cooperate. The mounting of the valves is a time-consuming and thus expensive task. Accordingly, valves are frequently associated only with the lower frequency-producing reeds in the interest of the reduction of production cost. The foregoing is particularly true in the case of less expensive mouth organs such as those formed from molded plastic parts. A mouth organ comprised of molded plastic parts is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,362.